


The Nerd Defense

by thesevenofhearts



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, but idk if i'd say this is oc centric, idk i imagine his parents are better off so he does have a lawyer, set right before ren's trial, so i guess that's an oc?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesevenofhearts/pseuds/thesevenofhearts
Summary: “Here.” He held the thick black rimmed glasses out in one hand. "You're wearing those for the trial. Appearances are important."In which Ren acquires his first mask.
Kudos: 15





	The Nerd Defense

**Author's Note:**

> this is like two years old (i posted it a while back too, so if this looks familiar, that's why lol) but i still like it a lil so here we go

“Here.” Tanaka-san held the thick black rimmed glasses out in one hand, the other holding the case file a few inches from his face, weary eyes skimming over the document. He held them aloft for only a moment, before shooting Ren an aggravated look and sliding them across the table with only a single finger, as though his refusal had contaminated them somehow.

Ren wasn’t sure if he liked Tanaka. He’d only met him once prior, the day after his indictment. The meeting had not gone well--it was evident within the first few minutes that the lawyer didn’t believe him, and he had insisted on pleading guilty in hopes of securing a lighter sentence.

 _A lighter sentence_ \--as though anything short of a total acquittal could spare him from the mess just being arrested had caused. The idea of going back to school with teachers and students ostracizing him alike was perturbing at best, and downright disparaging whenever he allowed his mind to linger at the thought.

“You’re wearing those for the trial.” Tanaka explained, trying to hide the scowl threatening to overcome his wide, blotchy face. “Appearances are important.”

Ren remained silent, turning the spectacles in his hands. Tanaka was right, of course, but it was odd to hear him say so. His parents had hired him, so he knew that the lawyer was relatively successful and well-experienced, but at first glance he looked more like a retired professor obsessively reminiscing about long-past glory days, not a sharp-witted and successful lawyer.

“And especially since you ain’t got a suit....” Tanaka wrung his wrists. Ren did, in fact, own a suit. It had simply been a while since he was required to wear it, and now it was too short on his wrists and ankles. Tanaka had actually lost his composure at the sight of it, his face a dark red in frustration. A part of Ren had worried during the rest of that visit that Tanaka would kidnap him from his detainment and sneak him in for a fitting.

Not that Tanaka was one to judge, regarding suits. He was a short, heavyset man, and while Ren could care less, his suit looked as though it had shrunk on him, which made the lawyer seem even shorter and more rotund. His jacket sleeves were also too short, and exposed nearly an inch of the white cuffs of his dress shirt, which in turn were so tight that they seem to cut into his wrists, making his hands and sausage-like fingers look like something taken from a cartoon. His face and neck similarly swelled over the neck and tie of his shirt. The end product summoned the image of Tanaka swelling up like a bullfrog, forever prepared to scream at a witness.

Thankfully unaware of Ren’s thoughts, Tanaka grabbed a handkerchief from one of his suit pockets and started dabbing at his sweaty, burgundy face, the large ring on his hand glinting in the dingy light. The image was….less than reassuring. Lawyers usually wouldn’t be stressed about an ‘open and shut’ case. 

“Now, kid, at the top of the hour we’re gonna start the trial. The prosecution’s gonna put ya on the stand. And I’m gonna let them. They’ll ask for your version of the events. And what are you gonna say?”

“I’ll explain what happened.” Ren was spinning the glasses in a circular motion on the table, but he didn’t need to look up to know that Tanaka was swelling up like a bullfrog again. The lawyer’s hand fell on the table with a thud.

“Listen, she’s going to say that you attacked that man unprovoked.” Tanaka’s voice was even more clipped than usual--evidently he took Ren’s impassive face for the insubordination it was. “She’s a little lady. You’re tall and even without that tiny suit, you’re going to intimidate some of the jurors.”

Ren was pretty sure he didn’t like Tanaka.

“ _But,_ if we make you look like some pathetic nerd, they might not believe that floozy.”

Ren definitely didn’t like Tanaka.

If anyone asked him, Ren would say that he wasn’t insanely tall--there were plenty of people in the world that could easily tower over him. They just didn't live around here, giving him the unfortunate illusion of being some tall, menacing monster of a teenager.

It wasn’t as though Ren _wanted_ to be tall--the benefits were limited to little more than being able to reach the top shelves and riding a few amusement park rides earlier than his fellow classmates. 

The costs not only outnumbered such meager benefits, but also came up more frequently: his mother bemoaning the fact that finding uniforms with adequate length was nigh impossible; someone nearly a foot shorter deciding to use him as a way to prove their mettle; nearly hitting his head off low doorways in older buildings--worse, actually hitting his head off a ceiling fan.

And however useful height was in some situations, he’d gladly trade a few centimeters to get out of this mess. If Tanaka was so convinced glasses were enough to get some leniency, he might as well wear them. At the very least, it could help Tanaka compose himself more.

“...Alright.” However much he disliked Tanaka, Ren wasn’t stubborn enough to disagree with him every step of the way. He unfolded the glasses and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. They weren’t the most comfortable, and the traces of a black frame around the edges of his vision were less than pleasant.

“There ya go, you look like a geek already. Lookin’ like that, there’s no way a jury’s gonna think that you beat anybody up in cold blood. Just follow my lead and you’ll be walkin’ out that door with a clean record.”

**Author's Note:**

> so this was literally inspired by an episode of adam ruins everything, where he mentions that lawyers actually make their clients wear glasses to look more feeble and incapable of committing crime and, uh....my brain instantly went to p5
> 
> also Tanaka has inspiration from: louis litt from suits (why tanaka has a too small suit), uncle vernon from harry potter (large stature, short temper, quickly reddening face), and the stereotypical idea of sleazy lawyers in general.


End file.
